The present invention relates to a process that is effective for providing a deflavored coconut concentrate. More specifically, a coconut concentrate is processed to separate coconut oil from coconut concentrate fibrous material. The separated oil is deodorized and blended back with the coconut concentrate fibrous material to extract further flavorings from the coconut concentrate fibrous material. The separation and reblending steps are repeated until the desired degree of deflavoring has been obtained at which point the final deflavored oil (or a portion thereof) is added back to fibrous material to provide the deflavored coconut concentrate.
Coconut concentrates can be blended with a wide variety of foods to provide texture enhancement. Unfortunately, the associated coconut flavor may not be desired in all applications. Coconut flavor may be removed using oil deodorization processes since a preponderance of the flavor is contained in the oil. Conventional industrial deodorization processes involve high heat and shear stress which affect coconut concentrate color and functionality via protein denaturation and browning reactions. Coconut concentrates produced in this manner are not generally acceptable as texture enhancers in many types of foods. It would be desirable, therefore, to provide deflavored coconut concentrates with reduced coconut flavor without undesirable color changes of loss of functionality. The present invention provides such coconut concentrates and methods for producing such coconut concentrates.
The present invention is directed to a method for providing a deflavored coconut concentrate. The deflavored coconut concentrate provided by the process of the invention has the color and functionality of coconut concentrate that has not been deodorized, but does not have the coconut flavor associated with a coconut concentrate. In the present invention, separating the oil from the fibers prior to deodorization exposes only the oil to high temperature allowing the fibers to maintain their native form.
In an important aspect, the process of the invention is effective for providing a deflavored coconut concentrate where flavor components responsible for coconut flavor have been reduced by at least about 25 percent, and the deflavored protein concentrate has a protein concentration of at least about 6 percent with essentially none of the protein being denatured (i.e., less than about 1 percent denatured). The resulting deflavored coconut concentrate may be used as a texture enhancer in a wide range of applications where coconut flavor is not desired.
In accordance with the present invention, a coconut concentrate is provided that includes at least about 6 percent protein, at least about 20 percent fibrous carbohydrates, at least about 2 percent water, and at least about 60 percent oil, based on the total weight of the coconut concentrate composition. More preferably, the coconut concentrate includes about 6 to about 8 percent protein, about 20 to about 30 percent fibrous carbohydrates, about 2 to about 4 percent water, and about 60 to about 70 percent oil, based on the total weight of the coconut concentrate composition. The coconut concentrate is first subjected to a separation process effective for separating at least about 75 percent of the oil, and preferably at least 90 percent of the oil from the coconut concentrate fibrous matrix material. Preferably, the separation is carried out using a centrifugation process, and more preferably, a high-speed centrifugation process.
Coconut oil separated from the coconut concentrate fibrous matrix is subjected to conventional deodorization processes to form a deodorized oil. The deodorized oil is then added back and blended with the coconut concentrate fibrous matrix material to allow additional coconut flavor to partition into the oil. The oil is once again separated from the coconut concentrate fibrous matrix. This process is repeated until the desired degree of flavor removal from the concentrate fibrous matrix is obtained. Once the final degree of flavor removal has been achieved, the fibrous matrix is combined with at least a portion of the final deflavored oil as the deflavored coconut concentrate. Thus, the deflavored coconut concentrate contains the fibrous matrix and at least a portion, and more preferably essentially all, of the deflavored oil.
The process of the present invention is effective for significantly reducing the concentration of coconut flavor components in the coconut concentrate as compared to the original starting material. By repeatedly extracting flavor in the fibrous matrix using the deodorized oil, a deflavored coconut concentrate can be obtained which can then be used in a wide variety of food compositions. The desired degree of flavor removal will depend, of course, on the intended application or food product.